


it doesn't take that much group effort

by jeien



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Getting Together, Hanging Out, Kotatsu, Matchmaking, Oofuri Secret Santa 2016, Sleepovers, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8994118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeien/pseuds/jeien
Summary: Team Nishiura contemplate life, snowball fights, and the frustrating fact that Abe still has not confessed to Mihashi despite all their best efforts.





	

“You guys are the fucking _worst_.”

Izumi snorts, sinking further into the kotatsu. “Not our fault your dodging skill is just as crappy as your left arm.”

“If you weren’t so far away,” Mizutani says, only seated across from him, “I’d kill you.”

“ _Guys_.” They both turn to Hanai, recognizing a warning when they hear one even when the stern edge isn’t quite there like it usually is. “If you have to kill each other, wait until next year when we actually get juniors in the club to fill your positions.”

Mizutani and Izumi only grunt as they let the heat ease the tension in their muscles and the cold from their skin.

“I can’t believe this thing can hold all ten of us,” Suyama sighs, content. “Where’d Mihashi’s family even get a kotatsu this big?”

Even Tajima’s words lose their electric flare as he answers, “Mihashi’s dad made it ‘cause he was excited about having us sleep over. Oh, and Mihashi, Hamada and I helped with assembling the table and Hamada’s dad put in the heating unit. Then, they had this long Dad Talk since they hadn’t seen each other since Mihashi and Hamada lived in the same apartment complex.”

“They seriously made this just for us? Ugh, bless the Mihashi family,” Sakaeguchi says. A wave of approving noises follows because it’s a unanimous consensus within the club—even when you include Coach Momoe, Mr. Shiga, and Shinooka—that the entire Mihashi family is almost too good for this world. Sure, Mihashi has his faults, but they’re all in the opinion that the whole Mihoshi Academy Incident royally screwed him over; and it just proves that Mihashi needs to be protected from the alpha-male jerks that tend to inevitably linger in the world of high school baseball.

“Speaking of Mihashi, where’d he go?” Oki asks from his comfortable slump against the kotatsu’s tabletop.

“I think,” Nishihiro answers—and while his back is still fairly straight as he usually is when he’s seated, but by now all of them can see the miniscule slouch in his posture, “he’s downstairs with Abe.”

Everyone else hums like a devious revelation opened up from the heavens.

“Wait, wait, let’s not get too excited,” Hanai says. The way Tajima’s eyes had lit up was just the first marker. The adrenaline from the earlier snowball fight was starting to creep up again, slowly making its way past the lulling heat beneath the table, and Hanai knows he needs to nip it in the bud before the others start physically vibrating with energy. “After all, Abe _still_ hasn’t jumped on any of the opportunities he had in the past.”

“Yeah, but it’s _Christmas_ ,” Tajima says, in the same factual tone he uses when he says _The world is round_ or _The sky is blue_ or _We’re gonna win Koshien_. “It’s Christmas and instead of staying home to watch the holiday romance movies on TV or going out into the crowds of couples taunting us for being single, we all decide to have a club sleepover at Mihashi’s place. And, uh, _who_ was it that said yes all too quickly when it was suggested?” Tajima doesn’t wait for anyone to respond when he answers, “Yep. Abe. It’s Christmas, Abe’s alone downstairs with Mihashi, and if he doesn’t ask Mihashi out tonight, I’m gonna eat my fucking fist and deck him with the one I have left.”

“Not until next year,” Izumi says, echoing Hanai’s earlier words with a smirk. Hanai sent him a halfhearted glare.

“Point is,” Tajima says, “I’ll get them together myself if I have to. I’m not above just shoving them into one of the linen closets here—they’re big enough for two baseball players.”

“Didn’t we already try hooking them up with each other last month?” Mizutani asks. He gets questioning looks from all around the kotatsu because _when the hell did_ that _happen?_ “Remember? During the cultural festival?”

“ _That’s_ considered trying to hook them up?” Suyama almost looks offended at the question. “ _That_ was a disgrace. Don’t talk about the cultural festival anymore—hell, don’t even _think_ about it. God, it was so embarrassing when that girl from 1-C caught us trying to put Mihashi in knee-highs. We had to get Shinooka to explain that we weren’t perverts and everything!”

“The bon festival, too,” Oki adds. Everyone sighs—the set-up the team had secretly planned for the bon festival had been movie-worthy, but even under the beautiful blooms of the fireworks and their fierce hopes as they hid behind the foliage, Abe had uncharacteristically chickened out and left his confession unsaid. “That one had been pretty disappointing.”

“Don’t forget the joint training camp with Sagaku Eiwa Academy and Nohase High back in the beginning of August—when _all three of our teams_ tried _the whole week_ and failed.”

“Or the practice match with Wakema High because all the second-year outfielders had a crush on Mihashi and we were so sure Abe would do something.”

“Oh, and that one time we all went to watch the Tochigi prefectural qualifiers and got squished together on the train because of the rush hour.”

“Wait a second, Mizutani, weren’t the knee-highs _your_ idea?”

“S-Sakaeguchi, shh—!”

“What the hell are you guys doing?”

Everyone stops mid-sentence, jaws open to add to the list of attempts and failures and terribly hilarious memories, and turns to the doorway of Mihashi’s bedroom. Abe and Mihashi are there, holding trays of snacks and drinks. Abe’s face is set into his trademark expression of tightly knit brows and thin-pressed lips while Mihashi is wide-eyed and skittish as usual. Nothing seems to be out of place and Tajima’s aura flares dangerously.

Izumi shoves him to the side to break the fire as their battery puts down the trays. “Just debating the outcome of the snowball fight earlier.”

Before Tajima can intercede to out their feelings right there, Mihashi gasps softly and stutters out, “O-Oh, I forgot to bring up the tangerines.”

“Want me to help?” Abe asks. Mihashi shakes his head, a little less vigorously than they expected. Abe’s eyes soften. “Well, okay.”

They heard a phantom _Bring up the bag separately if you have to, just don’t dump them all into the bowl_ before realizing that Abe hadn’t actually barked out any additional instructions. Mihashi patters back downstairs. Abe takes his seat next to Nishihiro, who kindly scoots over to give him a little more room.

“You, uh,” Oki says because he saw it, they all saw it, “I mean, did something—”

“Did you ask him out yet?!”

Their heads shrieked _TAJIMA!_ like a bolt of lightning. And, really, they should have seen it coming, at least enough to take precautionary measures (like taping his mouth shut or knocking him out altogether). What they didn’t see coming was Abe’s nonchalant, “Yeah.” It took two beats for his response to process.

The crack of thunder came next when everyone nearly leapt out from under the kotatsu to scream, “ _WHAT?!_ ”

“Well,” Abe says before clearing his throat. There are traces of pink dusting his cheeks. “His parents came home and got excited when they saw the two of us in the kitchen preparing the snacks. His mom started going on about how happy she was we were finally together and, uh, we obviously weren’t. She freaked out a little over jumping the gun, but they left us to talk. And you can probably take it from there.”

No one even _breathes_ until the words sink in. Several months of trying to meticulously get their battery together and Mihashi’s parents manage to do it by accident.

“Wow,” Nishihiro says.

Mihashi returns with a bag of tangerines and a long platter tucked underneath his arm, just in time to hear Tajima say, “Oh, good, I don’t have to kill you anymore!” He slaps Abe’s back heartily, much to Abe’s confusion. “Talk about a Christmas miracle!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it, Mihashi,” Suyama says, helping him with the tangerines. Tajima’s enthusiasm eventually dies down, with Abe looking rather perturbed after the sudden assault—but the dust settles and the comforting heat creeps back up their skin again, blanketing the ten boys in the warmth of a short respite from baseball.  Some sigh, some pick at the peels of the tangerines, some slip away into half-sleep.

The silence lasts only until Sakaeguchi says, “Seriously, though. Bless the Mihashi family.”

To Mihashi and Abe’s confusion, everyone hums in agreement.

**Author's Note:**

> If you thought the line about Tajima eating his fist was familiar, it was from the dub lol. 
> 
> I'm in love with the headcanon that other schools outside of Nishiura ship these two as much as the team does. Hope you enjoyed reading!


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